• Since 1990, 20 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government have passed laws authorizing civil commitment for sex offenders. Supporters say these laws prevent violent crimes by keeping sex offenders off the streets.
• A growing body of evidence suggests, however, that civil commitment programs are designed to lock people up indefinitely, not to rehabilitate them. In Larned, Kansas, many patients have been detained for years, even decades.
• Under Missouri’s law, unconditional release isn’t even an option. In Kansas, only 16 of the 380 people ever committed have been discharged; 14 have received conditional release; and 65 have died in custody. Virtually everyone else remains locked up.